KNOM Radio Missionhttp://www.knom.org/wp
96.1 FM | 780 AM | Yours for Western AlaskaSun, 02 Aug 2015 17:30:09 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.3With Support from Kawerak, Bering Strait Schools Strive for Culture-Driven Curriculahttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2015/02/27/with-support-from-kawerak-bering-strait-schools-strive-for-culture-driven-curricula/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2015/02/27/with-support-from-kawerak-bering-strait-schools-strive-for-culture-driven-curricula/#commentsSat, 28 Feb 2015 01:03:05 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=14652New state standards are calling for more “rigorous” education. But in many districts, that goal is matched by a desire for more cultural relevancy in the classroom.]]>http://www.knom.org/wp-audio/2015/02/2015-02-24-bssd-culture-curriculum.mp3

In Alaska schools, new state standards are calling for more “rigorous” education. But in many districts, that goal is matched by a desire for more cultural relevancy in the classroom. Educators say it’s possible to have both rigor and culture—in fact, it’s necessary. And they’re getting creative to prove it.

The Bering Strait School District is one Alaska school system overhauling their curriculum to meet rising state standards, but sometimes what’s in the books doesn’t quite resonate with students. Carolyn Heflin is director of curriculum and instruction at BSSD.

“So, if something in the reading curriculum refers to, for instance, the state fair, and many of our students have not gone to the state fair, teachers have to teach that background knowledge and by the time they get to the assignment, it’s really too late,” said Heflin. “So what we’re doing is throwing in pictures of Inupiaq days or Yupik days and tying that cultural connection into our reading program so that we build background knowledge with our students and make that connection.”

And the person forging that connection through a grant with Kawerak is Nome’s Marjorie Tahbone. Utilizing the archives of Kawerak’s Eskimo Heritage Program, Tahbone is infusing more culturally relevant material into BSSD’s reading, writing and math curricula. It’s still early in her work, but so far Tahbone is adapting some of the writing prompts, adding stories from Elders Conferences, and brainstorming ways to blend a wealth of traditional knowledge with western mathematics.

“The idea is to use all of what we have already. We have knowledge on building kayaks, we have knowledge on bending frames and building structures,” said Tahbone. “So [we’re] using that knowledge and kind of adapting it into this modern concept of mathematics, like algebra.”

Heflin said using long-existing knowledge and resources works best for the kids, and strengthens connection with the community. Indian Ed and bicultural teachers are already providing that education at BSSD, but the goal is to have culture in every classroom.

“It draws kids in and it’s not just reading, writing and math the western way,” said Heflin. “It’s how can we involve the cultural aspects of each village into our curriculum.”

However, Tahbone said it’s not always an easy feat to adapt western education.

“For example, one of the units is called ‘The Wild West.’ So, they’re learning about settling land and the Indians and Native Americans,” said Tahbone. “Talking about that time and trying to make it relevant—how can I do that? What can I do to make it relevant to this area?

“And I guess the only thing for me is to talk about when people were moving here from another place, you know? Missionaries and all that stuff… How can we make these things relevant? So there are challenges, but they’re just going to have to be resolved. It’s something that has to happen.”

For now, Tahbone said she’s working with BSSD’s curricula to insert traditional knowledge, but hopes that one day it’ll be the other way around—where state standards will be inserted into a curriculum rich in local wisdom. Through an honorarium, Kawerak and BSSD hope to continue involving community members to teach what they believe should be available in schools.

“Whether it’s telling a story of long ago, or teaching the kids how to maintenance their snowmachines, telling string stories, drumming and dancing… We do that too as part of this grant,” said Tahbone.

It’ll be a long process to fully renovate the curricula, but Tahbone is hopeful this work will have an enduring impact—and perhaps be utilized in Nome schools one day, too.

“You know, we’re so unique. There’s no other place like ours and it’s awesome that we can put that into our curriculum for the students and for the young leaders that are in our area in this region,” she said.

In order to respect this traditional knowledge, Tahbone said she’s also building an etiquette guide for instructors and reaching out to tribes for permission to share materials they’ve provided in the classroom.

]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2015/02/27/with-support-from-kawerak-bering-strait-schools-strive-for-culture-driven-curricula/feed/0Sounding Board: Education Moving Forwardhttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2015/02/02/sounding-board-education-moving-forward/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2015/02/02/sounding-board-education-moving-forward/#commentsMon, 02 Feb 2015 22:57:57 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=14231This week on Sounding Board, we want to know: what should be the priorities for education in Western Alaska?]]>http://www.knom.org/wp-audio/2015/02/2015-02-05-SB-Education.mp3

The show is over, but the conversation doesn’t have to end here.

You can listen to this episode of Sounding Board above, and add your comments below. Thank you again to our callers: Roger in White Mountain, Marjorie in Nome, Carl in Nome, Larry in Emmonak, Carol in Nome, and Louisa in Nome. Also, thank you to our email contributors: J Rohn and B Proctor in Nome.

This week on Sounding Board, we want to know: what should be the priorities for education in Western Alaska?

In 2015, our schools are facing many challenges and changes: funding cuts, changes in how we measure the quality of education, and district turnover.

How do you think our schools are doing?

How does turnover affect the education children receive?

Where should we focus for growth: on meeting national benchmarks, improving cultural education, career readiness, or something else?

Call KNOM this Thursday, February 5, at 10 a.m. to join the conversation. You can share your thoughts in the comment box below.

]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2015/02/02/sounding-board-education-moving-forward/feed/0Nome Students Recount Powerful Experience at Elders & Youth Conferencehttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/10/24/nome-students-recount-powerful-experience-at-elders-youth-conference/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/10/24/nome-students-recount-powerful-experience-at-elders-youth-conference/#commentsFri, 24 Oct 2014 19:33:17 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=12475"One thing I found inspiring on this trip wasn’t exactly a thing that we learned, it was something that we felt," said Tatiana, one of the Nome student attendees. "It brought this sense of community and togetherness that I’ve never felt before."]]>http://www.knom.org/wp-audio/2014/10/2014-10-24-E%26Y-Nome-Recap.mp3

As AFN heats up in Anchorage today, a handful of students from Nome Beltz Jr./Sr. High School have returned from the 30th annual Elders and Youth Conference—the first time in about seven years since they’ve last attended. The student participants are part of NNYLO, the Nome Native Youth Leadership Organization, or JROTC—and they shared leadership skills and stories through a presentation at the conference, this year themed “Get Up and Stand Up.”

For Jannelle Trowbridge, participating in the conference exercised her leadership abilities.

“I feel like I’m growing and learning,” said Jannelle. “Even on this trip, you get to sit at tables and talk with elders. And with our presentation, we had to sit down and take initiative—leading a discussion and carrying out coming up with solutions from a group of people.”

Jannelle is a platoon leader with JROTC. She and fellow senior Joshua Gologergen explained how they learn respect and build leaders within the battalion. And though many valuable lessons were shared among the youth and elders at the conference, Tatiana Chanar said it wasn’t just about learning—it was something deeper than that.

“One thing I found inspiring on this trip wasn’t exactly a thing that we learned, it was something that we felt, and it was my first time feeling this in my life and it was such a refreshing experience,” said Tatiana. “A lot of people from the state, everywhere, come together and talk about issues that they’re dealing with. These issues are at the core, and everybody can relate to them. And it brought this sense of community and togetherness that I’ve never felt before.”

Tatiana described a skit during the conference where one girl was being confronted by issues like depression, anger, greed, alcohol, lust and suicide. She couldn’t handle all these adversities alone, but once she had support she was strong enough to overcome them. That was the message the students received from the gathering, Tatiana said: that common struggles within communities mean they’re not alone, and the stories that were shared lent them strength.

Tatiana and Sierra Tucker said they were able to identify a lot with the elders whom they met, and relate to the issues the elders faced throughout their lives. For Sierra, who built a relationship with an elder named Margaret, this commonality was also a bit distressing.

“It made me realize how there does need to be a huge change, because if I can relate to her young memories from 50 years ago and I can relate to that now, there’s still some things that aren’t changing,” said Sierra. “And Margaret and I exchanged numbers, so we’re gonna keep in touch,” she laughed.

For Tatiana, this experience deepened her respect for elders and why their wisdom is so important.

“What they want to pass down—it’s legit, it’s real. We shouldn’t take it lightly,” said Tatiana. “They don’t want us going down a path without knowledge.”

Joshua admired that the elders wanted to share their knowledge with the youth because of what their own elders taught to them.

“They were willing to teach any youth. It didn’t matter which culture, which tribe or which community they came from,” he said.

This positive interaction between the young people and elders at the conference inspired Sierra and Tehya Tucker to brainstorm ways to replicate it back home in Nome. They’re hoping to get other students outside of NNYLO involved, or even coordinate a storytelling gathering in Nome with elders here.

Tehya said one sentence someone shared at the conference really stuck out to her and is motivating her in these next endeavors:

“Don’t be that person that complains about all the bad things, and just sits there and does nothing about it,” she recounted. “Just get up and stand up for what you think is right, and try to change what is wrong.”

Tehya was selected as a student representative from the Bering Strait region, and next year, she’ll help to choose the theme and plan the Elders and Youth Conference.

Sierra said many times during the conference, she wished that more of her friends could be there and share what she called an empowering experience. So for anyone who wasn’t able to be there, here’s what these students took away from this year’s Elders and Youth Conference.

“Culture,” said Joshua. “Riveting,”said Tatiana. “Motivational,” said Tehya. “Heartwarming or inspirational,” said Sierra. And “beautiful,” said Jannelle.

For continued live coverage of AFN, keep listening to KNOM today and Saturday, and tune into KNOM Update News throughout the day for more on this year’s convention.

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http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/10/24/nome-students-recount-powerful-experience-at-elders-youth-conference/feed/0Profile: Inupiaq Class Brings Cultural Connection to Nome Beltz High Schoolhttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/10/08/profile-inupiaq-class-brings-cultural-connection-to-nome-beltz-high-school/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/10/08/profile-inupiaq-class-brings-cultural-connection-to-nome-beltz-high-school/#commentsWed, 08 Oct 2014 18:00:33 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=12238Teacher Marjorie Tahbone and students Tehya and Katherine give us a glimpse into their course—and it's about a lot more than language.]]>http://www.knom.org/wp-audio/2014/10/Inupiaq%20Class%20PROFILE.mp3

There’s an exciting new class being offered to students at Nome Beltz.

“I believe it’s the first class of its kind at Nome Beltz High School—teaching Inupiaq as a high school elective as well as college credit. It’s something that’s been a goal for Nome as a community to start bringing languages into the school.”

Beginning with the alphabet and delving into culture and history, Inupiaq teacher Marjorie Tahbone explains that this class is about a lot more than studying a language. She says it’s a process of learning together, and is looking forward to continued growth with her students.

Listen above to hear more from Marjorie and her students—and to practice a few Inupiaq words yourself.

Marjorie instructs her class on pronunciation of the atchagat, or alphabet. Photo: Jenn Ruckel, KNOM.

Photo: Jenn Ruckel, KNOM.

Photo: Jenn Ruckel, KNOM.

]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/10/08/profile-inupiaq-class-brings-cultural-connection-to-nome-beltz-high-school/feed/4Sounding Board: Music in Western Alaskahttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/09/28/sounding-board-music-in-western-alaska/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/09/28/sounding-board-music-in-western-alaska/#commentsMon, 29 Sep 2014 01:49:48 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=12053Call in this Thursday at 10 a.m. to share how music has influenced your life here in Western Alaska.]]>http://www.knom.org/wp-audio/2014/10/2014-10-02-sb-music.mp3

this week’s episode of Sounding Board, “Music in Western Alaska,” is over. If you missed the show, you can listen to the full episode above.

We had calls and emails from:

Andrea in Nome, who talked about her childhood days listening to her mom sing in Yup’ik during mass. Now, looking back, she can see how that was instrumental in developing her love for music. She would like to pursue a career as a music teacher.

Jim in Nome, who talked about his kids’ involvement in music and how important it has been to them, as well as his own experiences performing and conveying true emotion. He also noted that, no matter how accomplished you are, there’s always more to learn in music.

Paul from Unalakleet, who expressed his gratitude to those who have brought and maintained music in his village, including those who provide private lessons for his kids.

Josh from Wales, who talked about his musical journey, teaching himself guitar and traditional drums and how he is now sharing that with his nieces and nephews. He also mentioned the way in which he expresses himself through songwriting.

Sarah, the owner of Bearing Song and Gifts, spoke about the importance of instrument upkeep as well as how she discovered her songwriting talent while scaring away bears in Denali.

Dave talked about how the Nome Arts Council benefits the community as well as his personal experiences performing at open-mics and finding a local community of musicians.

Yaayuk is part of the King Island dance group in Nome and spoke about her memories of traditional dance, combining traditional and mainstream music and some of the ways she is passing tradition down to future generations.

From cultural music and dance festivals to spontaneous in-house jam sessions, music is an important part of building and maintaining a sense of community throughout Western Alaska. On this week’s Sounding Board, we want to hear about how music has impacted your life.

What role does music play in your life?

Are you involved in musical performances–like dancing, singing or playing instruments?

What steps do you take to preserve and pass down your cultural music?

What influence does music have on you and your community?

Do you have any memories of unforgettable musical performances?

Sounding Board is your call-in show, so join us Thursday, October 2nd at 10 a.m. to share your experiences with music. Have something to share right now? Email us at talk@knom.org or tweet us @knom. And don’t forget to tune in and call in this Thursday at 10 a.m.

]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/09/28/sounding-board-music-in-western-alaska/feed/1This is What it Means to Say Barrow, Alaskahttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/07/08/this-is-what-it-means-to-say-barrowak/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/07/08/this-is-what-it-means-to-say-barrowak/#commentsTue, 08 Jul 2014 17:00:07 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=10344Volunteer producer Dayneé changes hats, reporting on the Nalukataq celebration in Barrow, Alaska: "I am not a newsie at heart. I compensated for it by giving myself more prep time and a few pep talks in front of the mirror that went something like, 'You’re assertive! You ask questions! You can walk up to strangers and ask coherent, intelligent questions!'"]]>

Confession: I knew about Barrow way before I ever knew about Nome.

A few years ago I grew interested in non-linear narratives, (every writer goes through this phase, as well as a DFW and maybe even a Bukowski one… most of us grow out of it. Please don’t hate us), and I ran across Jonathan Harris’ “The Whale Hunt,” a multi-media experimental form of storytelling about a man who goes to Barrow—the northernmost American settlement— to join a whaling crew for their spring whale hunt. Harris documents the entire journey with 3,214 photographs and a heart monitor recording high moments of adrenaline.

This is how I was first introduced to elements of Inupiaq culture and the subsistence lifestyle of western Alaska. I didn’t grasp the depth and cultural significance behind the whale hunt then. I mean, how could I? I was an outsider (still am), learning through the computer screen.

I was in awe of the photos Harris captured and never imagined I’d actually get to see any of it myself, but I did.

Nalukataq blanket toss.

Woman throws candy for the children on the blanket toss.

Two weeks ago, I made the trip north to Barrow to write a news profile about Nalukataq, a traditional whaling festival that celebrates a successful whale catch. It was a trip years in the making and I am grateful to KNOM for giving me the opportunity to go and experience it first hand.

Before the trip ever happened I was faced with a very basic dilemma: writing a profile meant taking off the producer hat and putting on the reporter hat. I am a DJ and talk show host for half my day. I spend the other half in my head thinking things, reading articles, writing scripts, mixing audio, and wondering whether searching for sound effects of a crying giraffe is worth it when I could just go to studio B and make my own.

I am not a newsie at heart. I compensated for it by giving myself more prep time and a few pep talks in front of the mirror that went something like, “you’re assertive! You ask questions! You can walk up to strangers and ask coherent, intelligent questions! You can go somewhere you’ve never been to all by yourself, figure out what the story is AND TELL IT! UP TOP GIRL, GIMMY FIVE!” A few fist pumps later and I felt like, yeah, I got this.

And I did. The trip was a success, there were no travel hiccups, and for one of the few times I could recall, I felt completely confident in my abilities as a reporter. I returned to Nome ready to edit countless hours of audio and pump out a profile before the holiday weekend began.

Crew member from Hopson 1 cuts the whale tail (reserved for the occasion)

I was late in processing my own experiences dealing with the trip. The thing about work trips is that you don’t come back with one story: you come back with many. Some of them are yours and some of them are not. Some are to put on the air, some are to tell your friends, some are private. Sometimes, there’s bleeding from story to story. The longer you are gone, the more stories you are likely to gather.

I was gone for almost a week.

Maybe I could do like Harris did, I thought. Just pull out the camera card and line out all my photos on Lightroom. They could be arranged in chronological order, in order of climax, according to the weather, by the color palate, by different events. Or I could find my own unique way to tell the story. By my keepsakes. The shirt from the Heritage Center Museum. My ticket stub. Or maybe tell the story according to everything I ate. Muktuk. Oranges. Fish and chips. Froyo. Cake. Coffee. So much coffee.

Should I make a list? What were some memorable things I experienced? I saw palm trees. That was weird. And a blue football field. I got tossed on the sealskin blanket. I had an amazing conversation about Sherman Alexie with a stranger at the Anchorage airport. I ran into the guy from Pamyua. I had amazing hosts, all around. I finally met Florence Busch. She makes a mean tuna sandwich.

Or maybe a list is too easy. Maybe Harris was up to something with “The Whale Hunt” after all. I get that now. Sometimes you take unusual roads because there’s no other way. Maybe this is the kind of story or experience I can’t tell in one simple straight-forward way. Or maybe Harris and I are kindred spirits, the crazy kind that makes everything too complicated for our own good, the kind that treks across the country looking for… what?

End of the road. Barrow, AK

The world actually ends, you know. Well, the land. This landmass that we inhabit stretches across forests and deserts and cities through countries for thousands and thousands of miles. Then it stops. It didn’t sink in until I saw it, driving out to the edge of town, the Arctic Ocean on both sides. The road ended. Nothing up ahead but the North Pole. So I turned around and came home, because, well, what else is there to do?

June’s episode of Story49 is all about food. Please join Janelle Everett of Barrow, Alaska, as she describes how she combines the southern home-style cooking that she grew up eating with traditional Alaska Native foods. This episode of Story49 will be divided into two acts. Act I: Eat; Act II: Or be eaten.

Act 1: Eat. In Act I, Janelle speaks about her favorite fusion cuisine: combining Southern homestyle cooking with traditional Alaska Native foods. Janelle sees meal preparation as an opportunity for both cultural exchange and culinary innovation, and she shares the foods that she and her friends create with her family in Alabama.

Act II: Or be eaten. In Act II, Janelle describes her experiences adjusting to the realities of wildlife in rural Alaska. Living in Barrow has made her very aware of her own place on the food chain.

http://knom.org/wp-audio/2014/06/2014-06-Story49-JanelleEverett.mp3
]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/06/19/story49-janelle-everett/feed/0A Picture and a Thousand Wordshttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/05/20/9131/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/05/20/9131/#commentsTue, 20 May 2014 16:00:56 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=9131Preparing for her departure from Nome, Emily reactivates her dormant Facebook account. She faces a choice: What experiences from Western Alaska can be shared with social media, and what stories are better told face-to-face?]]>

Last week I reactivated my Facebook account, and my two worlds collided.

I deleted my Facebook almost as soon as I got to Nome. I could not bear the prospect of having to do extra computer-oriented tasks in a place where there is so much to do outside, and, to be honest, didn’t really want to see what I was missing out on back in the Lower 48. Last week, though, I reactivated my account after I realized that 1. I would never be able to find a roommate next year if I didn’t have a well-rounded online presence and 2. I wanted to keep in touch with people that I’ve met in Nome, and Facebook is a super efficient way to stay connected (obviously).

Over the past week I’ve browsed through photos of weddings that I missed, friend-ed new friends, and checked out some essential fashion items that I’ll pre-order online and ship to my Chicago address. But I’ve also encountered some unexpected challenges: notably, how to maneuver the cultural differences regarding hunting and processing marine mammals. One of the first things I did to establish my return to Facebook was post a picture of a pair of polar bear skin boots that I saw in the Gambell school. After living in Alaska for nine months, I’d thought, “Wow, cool! Subsistence culture is alive and well, and those are beautifully made. They look pretty new, too!” when I’d seen them. The reactions that I got on Facebook were much different, though: most of the comments on the photo were along the lines of, “Are those real? Those had better not be real.” Upon reflection, I cannot believe that I did not anticipate those kinds of comments. I had become so engrossed in the language of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the importance of maintaining subsistence cultural values that I had not even considered that some of my Facebook friends would have immediate, knee-jerk, and negative reactions.

The polar bear boots are actually a pretty tame example of some of the animal processing that happens in Nome; for example, last Thursday I came across a man processing his nephew’s first oogruk in a parking lot. The skin was stretched, hide-down, across a picnic table, and he’d placed the head and flippers in a bucket next to his worksite. I stopped to chat with him and learned a lot about rendering seal oil. I also got some really good photos. But I will never, ever post those shots to my social media pages, for fear of becoming embroiled in an essentially unwinnable debate in my Facebook comments section. Those photographs are pretty graphic (a bloody seal head in a bucket is not something that one sees every day, particularly in the Midwest) and would have to be accompanied by an articulate, well-researched, cited, and somewhat lengthy essay on the importance and legality of subsistence practices. I would prefer not to use my Facebook page for such explanations.

Over the next two months, I will have to consider how to appropriately share my experience in Western Alaska with my friends, family, employers, and coworkers in the Lower 48. I will have to gather and develop succinct elevator pitches, short explanations, and illustrative examples, and be ready to defend those positions. Facebook is going to be a great tool to feel out which issues may not be completely palatable to Midwestern sensibility, and I’ll hopefully be prepared to address those concerns before I step off the plane in Chicago. I realize that I might be the only person who lived in bush Alaska that some people in the Lower 48 will ever meet, and I hope to represent this lifestyle and these values well.

]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/05/20/9131/feed/1A Western Alaskan Educationhttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/04/15/a-western-alaskan-education/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/04/15/a-western-alaskan-education/#commentsTue, 15 Apr 2014 16:00:51 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=8439Emily attended the Kawerak Regional Conference last week and realized how much she has learned about Alaska Native history and culture over the past nine months. ]]>

People from all over the state attended the conference, including elders, student representatives from the villages in the Bering Straits region, and ambassadors for organizations based in Anchorage and Fairbanks. Various KNOM volunteers went to different events to ensure that a summary of most of the presentations could be included in the next day’s Update News broadcast, and I ran over to the Rec Center after my DJ shift to record music from the Diomede, Nome/St. Lawrence Island, Savoonga, Teller, and King Island drum and dance groups.

The Kawerak Regional Conference was amazing on several levels. First and foremost, it was incredible to see continuing dialogue on topics such as language preservation techniques, specific solutions to promote community healing, and generational communication between elders and youth. Second, it was wonderful on a personal level to be able to keep up with these conversations. The Kawerak Regional Conference served as a kind of check-in for me: how much do I know about the history and cultures of the region? how well versed am I in legislation that affects Western Alaska? how much can I contribute to a working group discussion on historical trauma? The answer to all three of those questions was: more than I thought. Whereas I had sat in the Alaska Federation of Natives convention presentations in October cursing how the lack of Wi-Fi in the Carlson Center prevented me from looking up Katie John, I was actually able to keep up with the Kawerak Regional Conference discussions after just a few short months of attending community meetings, lectures, and cultural events.

I’ve lived in Nome for less than a year, but I’ve learned so much and met so many people in that short time. Thank you to those of you who have spoken so openly with me about regional and Alaska Native culture, history, and goals for the future during my tenure in Nome. I hope to represent these discussions well once I return to the Lower 48.

This week on Sounding Board (Thursday, March 27th at 10am), we’re talking about Native and traditional crafts.

With the forces of a cash economy and alternative lifestyles, the younger generation can seem distracted from learning how to make traditional crafts. If the youth do express an interest in learning these skills, sometimes the older generation can have difficulty finding the time to pass on this knowledge. Is it important to continue to teach and hone these cultural skills? In today’s society, how do we do this?

Are you an artist? How did you learn? How do you feel about sharing your knowledge?